Mississippi’s Supreme Court on a 5-4 vote denied yet another appeal from the Death Row inmate convicted of brutally murdering Mississippi State University students Jon Stephen Steckler and Pamela Tiffany Miller on the night of Dec. 11, 1992.
Willie Jerome “Fly” Manning, 56, was convicted of the murders in 1994 and has served 30 years at Parchman. While additional appeals, both state and federal, are likely, the court’s action puts the state in the position of setting an execution date. Manning’s attorney called the high court ruling one that ignored “newly discovered evidence with the recantations of several key (prosecution) witnesses.” Krissy Nobile, director of the state’s Office of Post-Conviction Counsel and Manning’s attorney, told the Associated Press that with the recantations and “debunked evidence” there is no “evidence linking Mr. Manning to the murder or the victims.” In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Mike Randolph wrote that (Manning) “has had more than a full measure of justice. Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler have not. Their families have not. The citizens of Mississippi have not.” On that fateful night, Steckler and Miller had been on a date. According to trial transcripts, the young couple was last seen alive in the early morning hours of Dec. 11, 1992, outside of Steckler’s fraternity house near the campus. The couple left the house around 1 a.m. in Miller’s car. At 2:15 a.m., Steckler’s body was discovered in the right-hand lane of a county road. Near his body, authorities found a gold token, three shell casings, and a projectile. Steckler’s injuries were consistent with having been run over by a car at a low speed. Miller’s body was discovered in the nearby woods and investigators believe she had been sexually assaulted. She had been shot twice in the face.
Miller’s car was discovered in front of an apartment building nearby. On the pavement near the driver’s side door, coins and a ring identified as belonging to Miller were found, all about 100 yards away from Miller’s residence. In 1994, Manning was convicted of the capital murders of Steckler and Miller in a jury trial after just one hour of deliberations. Manning was sentenced to death for the murders. The most damning evidence against Manning was his alleged attempts to sell certain items identified as belonging to his victims. In 2013, Manning came perilously close to meeting the executioner as punishment for the murders of Steckler and Miller. Manning got an 11th-hour stay of execution on an 8–1 decision by the state's highest court after issues were raised by Manning's attorneys challenging the testimony of FBI agents regarding ballistics and hair analysis used to convict him in the Steckler-Miller murders. In November, Republican Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a motion to dismiss a second-post conviction motion and set a date for Manning’s execution. On Dec. 1, the Mississippi Supreme Court temporarily suspended Fitch’s motion, ruling that the court must rule on Manning’s latest motion regarding a challenge to his conviction before an execution date can be set. Now, the court has ruled on that challenge. Former Starkville police chief David Lindley told The Columbus Dispatch newspaper in 2013 his recollections of Manning as someone in and out of trouble with the law since childhood. Manning’s criminal record goes back to the mid–1970s when he broke into a store to steal a motorcycle. “Fly” was six years old at the time. Manning continues to petition the appellate courts on the Steckler-Miller murders and his defenders continue to tout his innocence. But in 2013, Democratic Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood called the evidence of Manning's guilt “overwhelming.” So has Fitch, a Republican. “Even if technologies were available to determine the source of the hair, to indicate someone other than Manning, it would not negate other evidence that shows his guilt. He is a violent person who committed these heinous murders,” Hood said. Most of the families of Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller have died waiting on justice for these slain students murdered in the very dawn of their adult lives. Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com.
20 comments:
Juries make too many mistakes. The death penalty should be abolished. Life in prison is true punishment.
Light him up, Sid needs to spend most of his time scouting the intramural football games looking for a QB!
Jesus! He’s already been exonerated for another murder.executing him would be a travesty of justice because he’s innocent!
It’s time, Willie.
The death penalty is frequently a political tool that pols use to show that they are "tough on crime." It certainly isn't a deterrent when appeals take 20, 30 years or more.
As a retired LE detective at a very large agency in another state, I know that overzealous prosecutors and "homicide" detectives who want to make their bones want a conviction at any cost, even if they hide exculpatory evidence or manufacture evidence.
Yes, and juries also get it wrong.
Look at all of the people around the country who are found innocent due to the great work done by the Innocence Project.
Life in prison is a much worse punishment.
I toured Parchman once - or, at least, some of the areas where touring was allowed. I decided then that death was better than any substantial prison term. Life in prison is a much more cruel punishment than the death penalty.
never is it good to go on trial in starkville with the last name of manning.
to 9:11...so where is the inoccence project on this case?
His time has come. He serves no useful function to anyone in his cell at Parchman and will still be claiming, "Just one more thing," with his last breath. Eternity is his, either justified or not. Let him enter into it.
Wow, I don't even remember this case. So very sad. I hate that both of their families have had to endure this for so long.
I think the death penalty would have a distinct impact on crime if it was on pay-per-view. Give the proceeds to the victims' families.
Like September 25, 2024 at 11:28 AM comment.
However, the 100's of civil rights groups would jump on this "like files on doo doo".
Just saying.
All I will promise is that if this motherfucker ever gets out, his life expectancy will be measured in minutes. Rot in prison scumbag.
11:28am
A pay per view for victim's family is a good idea. But add an auction to be on convict's firing squad.
True guilt or innocence has nothing to do with a court trial.
I have been waiting for this scum to die for a long time. Great news.
Knowing one of the Victims Family is tuff. He should have been executed many Years ago. These Young People were in the prime of Life, doing what that age does. Let's decrease the Parchman population Now.
Allow pay per view for all. Funds go back to the state for the 30 years of expenses to defend and house this evil person. And who knows, might be a deterrent if certain elements of society watch the PPV
"Chief Justice Mike Randolph wrote that (Manning) “has had more than a full measure of justice."
Well, not yet.
Some of my former colleagues represent Willie Manning. Here is some information about the case:
There is a short, 3-min. video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVY10911mdg
There is a podcast episode about his case: https://murdersheetpodcast.com/podcast/murder-sheet/episode/the-murder-cases-of-willie-manning-is-mississippi-about-to-execute-an-innocent-man
Here is his petition for post-conviction relief too https://courts.ms.gov/appellatecourts/docket/sendPDF.php?f=web0001.SCT.2023-DR-1076.87264.0.pdf&c=97088&a=N&s=2
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